1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to equipment for making pottery and, more particularly, is concerned with a potter s wheelhead assembly having a relocatable axis of rotation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An apparatus for making articles of pottery referred to as a potter's wheel is widely used by hobbyists, craftsmen and artisans. The potter's wheel typically employs a circular wheelhead having a planar upper surface. The wheelhead is centrally mounted upon and rotatably driven by a vertical rotary power drive shaft. The wheelhead is rotated, either manually or with a motor-driven system, about a central axis of rotation which is coaxial with the vertical rotary drive shaft.
A mass of wet clay deposited on the planar upper surface of the wheelhead at the location of its axis of rotation is shaped or "thrown" by manually manipulating the clay as the potter's wheelhead rotates. Single articles such as a vase, bowl, plate, or candle holder are typically made from the mass of wet clay using the potter's wheel.
Frequently, it is desirable to be able to form composite articles composed, for example, of different arrangements of these single articles together. One example of such a composite article is a platter having several candle holders mounted on it. Heretofore, only one of the candle holders could be integrally formed at a central location on the platter. The other candle holders had to be formed separate from the platter using a separate mass of clay. These latter candle holders would then be placed in the desired arrangement on the platter offset from the central candle holder and attached to the platter in some manner.
A shortcoming of this procedure of fabricating a composite article is that it typically leaves weakened joints between the separately-formed non-integral candle holders and the platter. The formation of an integral connection of each candle holder with the platter has not been possible up to the present time due to an inherent limitation in the capability of prior art potter's wheels. This limitation is that prior art wheelheads have a single fixed central axis of rotation. Thus, the article to be shaped from the mass of clay must always be positioned on the wheelhead at the central location of the rotational axis of the wheelhead. In the example of a platter with three candle holders on it, since the prior art wheelheads have only a single fixed axis of rotation only one of the three candle holders can be placed at the center of the platter.
Consequently, a need exists for improvement in potter's wheelhead construction which will overcome the inherent shortcoming found present in the prior art wheelheads.